Jacob Rees-Mogg: I shouldn’t have spoken to ‘disgraceful’ extremist group

Friday 9 August 2013 12:26 BST

Wealthy: Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg Getty

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg today admitted he “didn’t do enough work” before being guest of honour for an extremist group that has called for Doreen Lawrence to leave Britain.

The backbencher said it was “my fault entirely” that he accepted an invitation to the dinner hosted by the Traditional Britain Group, which calls for the repatriation of ethnic minority Britons.

The far-Right group attacked the peerage awarded to campaigner Mrs Lawrence, whose son Stephen was murdered 20 years ago in London, as a “monstrous disgrace” and it also mocks black MPs as non-British.

“I clearly didn’t do enough work to look into what they believe,” said an embarrassed Mr Rees-Mogg.

In an initial statement, he suggested Conservative headquarters were partly to blame because his assistant had asked them for information on the group.

Mr Rees-Mogg went on: “Mrs Lawrence is a wonderful and courageous woman who has contributed to British public life, and in any traditional view of Conservatism she should be lauded for what she has done.”

He said the group’s views were “so deeply disgraceful and shocking that they have no place in decent political debate”.